Weird Heart Location

[Vids]

Has anyone else had this happen? I shot this buck last weekend in Illinois during gun season. I shot him broadside, and intentionally aimed behind the front shoulder so I could hit the lungs but still save the meat on the front quarters.

It worked out perfectly as both shoulders were in great shape, but when I gutted him I noticed I had completely destroyed the heart. Seemed weird to me, the heart is typically right in line with the front leg but on this deer it was 6-8 inches back from where it should have been.

What you see is the exit wound, the entrance was in the same location on the other side.

 

[Lawnboi]

What caliber were you using?

Cavitation, from high power rifle bullets create a much greater wound channel on the inside than the holes you see on the outside. If that makes sense

 

[Vids]

Shotgun sabot slug, Federal Trophy Copper 12 gauge.

I've shot several other deer with those slugs and never had this happen before. It doesn't seem plausible that the slug could have destroyed the heart with zero muscle damage to either front quarter, if the heart were located between the two front shoulders as one would expect.

 

[LongWayAround]

Shotgun sabot slug, Federal Trophy Copper 12 gauge.

I've shot several other deer with those slugs and never had this happen before. It doesn't seem plausible that the slug could have destroyed the heart with zero muscle damage to either front quarter, if the heart were located between the two front shoulders as one would expect.

I would also suspect cavitation as the culprit. The shoulder meat lies outside the chest cavity which is likely why it was not damaged. The cavity contained the shockwave.

Growing up in Iowa, I had a few opportunities to see the damage potential of a 12 gauge slug.

 

[Vids]

Interesting, I suppose that could be the case. I've shot 10-15 animals through the lungs with my 12 gauge and/or my .308 and have never seen the heart damaged unless the shot was far enough forward to take out the front leg.

 

[mtluckydan]

My wife took her Montana buck this year through the heart with a 7mm-08. The shot never touched any shoulder meat and basically ruined no meat on either front shoulder. She cut a channel through the heart. I think maybe the heart is located a little further back than you think.

 

[RallySquirrel]

I agree with Dan. I don't think the heart is typically found as far forward as the front legs.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Has anyone else had this happen? I shot this buck last weekend in Illinois during gun season. I shot him broadside, and intentionally aimed behind the front shoulder so I could hit the lungs but still save the meat on the front quarters.

It worked out perfectly as both shoulders were in great shape, but when I gutted him I noticed I had completely destroyed the heart. Seemed weird to me, the heart is typically right in line with the front leg but on this deer it was 6-8 inches back from where it should have been.

What you see is the exit wound, the entrance was in the same location on the other side.

View attachment 31267

Looks like it's in pretty much the same place it was on this Kodiak Blacktail I shot a couple months ago. The shot placement was a little low but totally blew out his heart and no meat lost. This is also the exit wound and the entrance was just a little higher and of course on the opposite side. I was on a hill shooting down at the buck.

 

[Mtaylor]

Does not surprise me. That's where I shot my deer this year (with a bow) and it went straight through the his heart. Of course shot angle, ect. Ect can make a difference too. Congrats on a good shot!

 

[MAT]

The heart is basically a balloon filled with water, so a nearby hydraulic shock will rupture it. I killed a doe several years ago with a muzzleloader thru the breastbone, never penetrated the chest. She went 30 yards and was full of blood when I opened the chest.

 

[Vids]

Maybe I've just been lucky the other way. I've taken this shot on 8-10 other animals and the heart has always been intact, with lungs destroyed. This time it was the other way around....